Catching up: Activists moving forward with plans for urban orchard

Activists for fresh, sustainable, locally grown foods in Madison
are moving ahead with plans to plant and maintain fruit and nut
trees on city property despite being turned down for a $140,000
federal grant.

The tree-planting effort did win a $2,500 grant from the Dane
County Tree Board, according to Janet Parker, an urban orchard
enthusiast and member of the Madison Park Board, and plans are
afoot to partner with other cities around the country to apply for
another federal grant.

The $2,500 grant, awarded to Community GroundWorks at Troy
Gardens, will pay for educational sessions on how to create and
maintain an urban orchard.

Meanwhile, Park Board president Bill Barker has launched
madisonfruitsandnuts.org.
The site had minimal information as of Tuesday, but is expected to
serve as a resource for creating urban orchards and include a map
of places in Madison to glean — i.e., harvest extra fruit, nuts and
other edibles from public and private lands.

The activists’ work has garnered a “huge amount of interest,”
Barker said. “This has really taken off.”

Parker said the Parks Division also plans to do an inventory and
map of existing fruit trees in city parks.